Middle East & Africa

JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks sank for a second session in a row on Tuesday, pulled down once again by a global resources sell-off that saw platinum hit five-year lows and iron ore plumb a record trough. Leading blue-chip decliners, Kumba iron Ore fell nearly 5 percent to 179 rand, a 5-1/2 year low, after the price of its commodity slipped below $60 a tonne - its lowest since records began in late 2008 - under pressure from a global glut as China's economic growth slows. South Africa's rand fell to 13-year lows against the dollar but this offered no relief to local mining companies, which often benefit from a weaker domestic currency because they sell for greenbacks. "The weak rand is not helping with commodity prices still going south.If commodity prices continue to fall, the rand will remain on the back foot. And this is not good for our market, ...

DUBAI: Banks buoyed Saudi Arabia's bourse on Monday while Egypt continued to rise after strong economic data. Most Gulf markets moved little because of uncertainty about oil prices, though Orascom Construction rose on listing in Dubai.Saudi Arabia's main index edged up 0.5 percent to 9,623 points, confirming a clear break of technical resistance on its February peak of 9,544 points. The benchmark faces stronger resistance on its 200-day average, now at 9,663 points.Telecommunications operator Mobily ...

JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks fell on Monday weighed by Kumba Iron Ore which traded ex-dividend, as well as a slump in markets as investors bet the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner than expected.Johannesburg's Top-40 index lost 1.25 percent to 46,644 while the wider All-share index shaved off 1.37 percent to percent to 52,614.Kumba slumped 7.3 percent to 188 rand after the company said it would be paying a dividend of 7.73 rand for ...

DUBAI: Shares in Egypt's Orascom Construction (OC) may rise as they start trading on NASDAQ Dubai on Monday after the company secured solid demand for its $185 million public offer. OC sold 11 percent of its shares in the offer at a price of 108.71 pounds ($14.25) per share, and secured a dual listing on the Egyptian stock market and NASDAQ Dubai.Trading in Dubai will start on Monday; the company has said trading in Cairo ...

DUBAI: Gulf equity markets may stay generally negative and sluggish on Sunday after oil's fresh slide on US interest rate concerns and also because of a lack of positive corporate news.Brent crude fell 1.2 percent to $59.73 a barrel on Friday and posted its biggest weekly loss since January, as a resurgent dollar and fear of a US rate hike diverted attention from the shrinking number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States. ...

JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks ended higher on Thursday, with Standard Bank among the top gainers on the blue-chip index after the lender declared a better-than-expected dividend payout.Standard Bank, whose full-year profit hardly grew, hiked its dividend by 12 percent to 598 cents per share, well above a 579 cents estimate in a Reuters poll of 13 analysts. Shares in Africa's biggest bank by assets jumped 5.4 percent to 156.96 rand. "They positively surprised on the ...

DUBAI: A new investment law and positive earnings in the real estate sector boosted Egypt's stock market in early trade on Thursday.Egypt's index rose 1.2 percent after the Cairo cabinet on Wednesday approved a long-awaited draft law on investment aimed at making deals less vulnerable to legal disputes or changes in government, and reducing stifling bureaucracy.The government is seeking to address foreign business concerns before an investment conference in Sharm el-Sheikh set for mid-March, when ...